System for creating and producing custom card products

ABSTRACT

A method of and apparatus for creating and vending printed card products such as greeting cards is disclosed, whereby a customer can select a card product for a desired application and customize or personalize certain portions of the selected card product. A terminal area or kiosk is provided at which the customer selects from a monitor screen display one of a number of different selection criterion for which he/she wants to obtain a card product. There may be multiple levels of selection criteria. Upon entry of the selection via, e.g., a transparent touch-sensitive plate on the monitor screen, one or more pre-stored groups of card product design formats pertaining to the selected selection criterion are determined, and the customer is prompted to select a particular card format to customize. The card product designs may include separate graphics, text and spaces for insertion of customized user messages, and these elements may be stored in a compressed format. Further inquiries via the monitor screen elicit custom messages to be reproduced at designated locations in the format of the chosen card product. The customized card product is then created by, e.g., a multi-color ink plotter that is fed with specially prepared sheets of card stock, and vended to the customer.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part application of application Ser. No.07/679,263 filed Apr. 2, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,123.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to card products and, more particularly, tomethod and apparatus for vending printed card products such as greetingcards, posters, invitations, announcements, certificates and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Greeting cards and similar type products are usually sold in stores orshops that devote considerable floor space to the display of the cards.The printed cards are normally displayed in racks divided according totype, i.e., birthday cards, anniversary cards, Christmas cards, etc.Usually, the shop must stock several copies of most cards so that allcards are available for selection at all times. As a result, theshopkeeper must carry a large inventory often resulting in losses fromcards that do not sell well or become out-of-date, out-of-stock ordamaged. Customers must devote considerable time to selection of agreeting card from among the large inventory on display.

Efficient production of conventional greeting cards requires large printruns. A new card may require as much as 18 months to design the cardformat, to market-test the design and to approve the card for a printrun. Because of the large print runs and long lead time, greeting cardsare usually limited to general interest areas and styles that do notbecome dated. Printed greeting cards usually do not exist for short runitems such as current event topics, regional events or other specialevents.

Attempts have been made to modernize the greeting card business throughthe use of computer controlled vending machines. For example, Hallmarkin U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,472 entitled "Computer Controlled Machine ForVending Personalized Products or the Like" describes a greeting cardvending machine where stacks of different partially printed cards arecustomized and then dispensed. The customer uses the computer keyboardto select from among the available pre-printed card formats and toinsert personal messages or information to customize the partiallypre-printed cards. An internal robot-like machine delivers the selectedpre-printed card to a letter printer which adds the customized messagesand then delivers the completed card to a delivery slot. In somecommercial installations, Hallmark eliminates the robot-like machine andhas the customer deliver the selected pre-printed card to the salesclerkfor insertion into a printer for customization.

Another computerized system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,174which generates pseudorandom text in the form of a greeting card. Thesystem uses a conventional home computer configuration including adot-matrix printer, monitor and conventional keyboard. Poetic text ispseudorandomly generated upon entry of a name, residence, gender,message or occasion, and primary and secondary traits. The message oroccasion for the card is selected from among a number of possibilitiesdisplayed with a 3-letter identifier. Similar prompts are used forselecting primary and secondary traits. Once the prompted information isentered, a poem is displayed with a title. Alternative text can bedisplayed at the option of the customer. When approved, the selectedpoem is produced by the printer.

Broderbund Software Inc. markets a software package for use with homecomputers called "The New Print Shop". The user can use the keyboard andmain display menu to select from among a number of pre-stored objectssuch as a birthday cake or Christmas tree, and locate these objects tocompose a card. In some instances "ready made" cards are available. Thefront of a chosen card is displayed first along with five menu choicesrespecting border, graphic, message, card inside, and customization. Theinside of the card with message inserted is then displayed. The card canthen be printed using a conventional printer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a vending system which(1) provides the ability to stock and display a virtually unlimitednumber of cards while using only a limited floor space, (2) avoidspurchasing losses arising from cards that do not sell well, becomeoutdated or shop-worn, (3) avoids lost sales from being out-of-stock on"hot selling" items and (4) provides entertainment that attractscustomers for cards and other products.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vending system capableof filling current market voids by economically providing capability ofeconomically limited run current event cards as well as regional andspecial event cards or cards for lesser holidays.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vending system capableof carrying out the selection process in different languages and capableof economically providing cards in a number of different languages andwith appeal to different ethnic groups.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a vending systempermitting the customer to efficiently select from a very largeinventory of possible greeting cards.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a vending system whichpermits complete customization of a selected card format.

Another object is to provide a vending system capable of providing avirtually unlimited number of printed quality greeting cards from plainpaper stock.

Another object is to provide a vending system with video display andaudio for attracting customers and providing selection prompts.

The vending system according to the invention is built in the form of avending terminal or kiosk which can be located within a shop, shoppingmall or other suitable location. Visible to the customers, the kioskincludes a monitor with a keyboard or touch screen display, a deliveryslot and a coin or credit card slot when desired. A computer is locatedinside the kiosk preferably including at least 4 megabytes addressableRAM (random access memory) and 100 megabytes hard disk capacity. Thecomputer is coupled to peripheral devices through suitable I/O(input-output) interfaces for coupling to (1) a high resolution colormonitor, (2) a touch screen associated with the monitor, (3) a coin orcredit card slot, (4) a plain paper supply mechanism, (5) an audiosystem, and (6) a high quality color plotter or printer preferablyproviding at least 300 dpi (dots per inch) print quality.

The available card formats are stored in memory either as complete cardsor as card fragments that can be assembled into a complete card. Sincethe system is intended to make a large number of high resolution cardselection available using a modest sized computer, the graphic data ispreferably stored in a compressed format which can be decompressed withlittle graphic loss. Also included in memory for each card format arethe associated selection criteria including the general applicationcategories such as birthdays, get well, Christmas, etc. and specificuses such as the relationships between the recipient and sender,interests of the recipient and the card type.

When not in use, the kiosk provides video displays and audio messages toattract customers or provide advertising. A block-by-block downloadingscheme is used to permit extended audio messages. The potential customeris advised that there is no charge in using the machine to composegreeting cards and that the customer must pay only if satisfied with thecard composition and desires a printed card. When using the machine thecustomer is first presented with a selection menu for a generalapplication category such as, birthday, anniversary, get well or otherspecial categories. The customer selects a general application using thetouch screen. Depending on which general category was selected, thecustomer is next presented with one or more use selections appropriatefor the general category to narrow down the card selection. The useselection can determine (1) relationship of the card recipient andsender, e.g., mother, sister, friend etc., (2) interests e.g. football,sports, cars, sewing, boys and (3) card type e.g., serious, funny, weirdetc. When the use selections are made using the touch screen, thecomputer runs a sort program to determine which card formats correspondto the selected criteria. The card formats that satisfy the selectedcriteria are then displayed on the screen.

The customer again uses the touch screen to select a card format fromamong those displayed. The selected card format is displayed on thescreen with an overlay indicating the type and location of possiblecustomized inserts. The screen display next prompts the customer forinsertion of customizing messages as appropriate for the selected card.The selected card format with the customized message inserts is thendisplayed. If the customer is satisfied with the card compositiondisplayed on the screen, the customer can have the card printed and payfor the printed card.

The printed product from the vending machine is a folded card printed onboth the front and back outside surfaces as well as at least one of theinside surfaces. In accordance with the invention, this is achieved byprinting on one side of a plain sheet stock pre-scored and trimmed for aquarter fold (also referred to as a "French fold"). The horizontal andvertical pre-score lines are offset from the centerline to compensatefor the paper thickness and one of the quarter panels is trimmed on thediagonal to facilitate edge alignment in the folded card.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects will become apparent from the followingspecification which sets forth illustrative embodiments of theinvention. The drawings form part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an external view of the vending machine according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a central processing unit of the presentinvention interfacing with peripheral equipment through input-outputinterface;

FIGS. 3-8 show screen displays of the characteristic selection levelaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a display of a card format on the monitor prior tocustomization;

FIG. 10 shows a screen display of the customization level according tothe present invention;

FIG. 11 shows a display of a card format after customization;

FIGS. 12-23 is a flow diagram of the card selection, customization andprinting process; and

FIGS. 24a, b, and c show a plain card stock with prescored fold linesand a trimmed edge, as well as, the folding sequence.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular FIG. 1, there is shownan embodiment of the present invention including a terminal area 50 inthe form of a kiosk having a monitor 52 with a touch screen 54, acomputer 56, printer 58, audio component 60, and a payment receivingdevice such as coin or credit card slot device 62. Generally, throughuse of the touch screen 54 displaying a series of screens with cardselection and customization criteria, a customer selectively limits thelarge number of cards stored in memory to only a small group of cardsconforming to the selection criteria. The cards of the selected groupare displayed on monitor 52 and a specific card format is selected usingtouch screen. The customer may then use touch screen 54 to add messagesto customize the selected card format. If satisfied with the selectedcustomized card, the a customer may choose the card for purchase, whichis then printed upon a blank card stock by printer 58. Audio component60 aids the customer by offering help and informing the customer whenincorrect selection or customization criteria have been entered. Controlof the above elements is accomplished by the computer 56 located withinthe enclosure.

As shown in the FIG. 2 block diagram, computer 56 includes a CPU(central processing unit) 68 and preferably 4 megabytes of RAM (randomaccess memory). The peripheral units include monitor 52, touch screen54, a printer 58 (including a paper loading device 72 not shown), audio60 (including an audio controller 74 not shown), a payment receivingdevice 62, a hard disk 76 and a modem 78, these peripheral units eachbeing coupled to the computer via a suitable I/O interface. The harddisk should have at least 100 megabyte capacity and preferably 200megabyte capacity.

The computer 56 includes RAM 66 for temporary storage of cardcharacteristics and customization data, and CPU 68 for program executionand peripheral device control. It may further include an internal clock,and preferably operates in the range of 10 to 44 MHz.

As seen in FIG. 2, the computer 56 interacts and controls throughsuitable input-output interfaces the terminal 50 and touch screen 54,the printer 58, the audio component 60 and audio controller 74, and thepayment receiving device 62. The computer may also interact through aninput-output device a modem 76. By use of the modem 76, the computer 56may be telephonically accessed from a central location to enableimmediate greeting card addition and update to the stored greeting cardformats to include new topics such as current events. It may also allowfor inventory (card stock) reordering, periodic maintenance checks, anddata gathering operations for statistical data accumulation andaccounting purposes.

Monitor 52 is preferably of a "VGA" type that will interface with aconventional touch screen. The touch screen 54 is a transparent pressuresensitive plate capable of signaling to the computer 56 the relativelocation on the monitor screen contacted by a user. When a "button"display on the touch screen is contacted by a customer, the backgroundof that button may momentarily change color, thereby confirming with thecustomer that the selection or action indicated by that button hasregistered with the system. One touch screen which may be utilized withthe present invention is available as model E-274 from ElectrographicsCompany of Oak Ridge, Tenn.

A VGA monitor with a 600×480 pixel resolution and 16 colors can store acomplete greeting card format in about 70-80 kilobytes using onlyminimal compression techniques such as eliminating blank spaces andunused borders. For higher resolution screen displays more sophisticatedcompression techniques are employed such as the JPEG (JointPhotographics Expert Group) algorithm. A screen image for an 800×600pixel display with 32,000 colors requires 8-900 kilobytes of memorywithout compression. By increasing the resolution to 1224×1024 pixelsthe memory requirement for the screen image is increased to 2-3megabytes. The JPEG algorithm first reduces data redundancy in theimage's pixel values using the discrete cosign transform (DCT). Arraysof 8×8 pixel are approximated as regions of color intensity representedby light frequency values. The DCT is applied to the array toconcentrate the energy represented in that region into a fewcoefficients representing the frequencies so the higher frequencycoefficients above the visible spectrum can be discarded and the lowerfrequency coefficients preserved. The DCT coefficients are thenquantized to reduce magnitude and to increase zero value coefficients.Thereafter, run-length and Huffman encoding are applied to representruns of consecutive zero values. The degree of compression achieved bythe JPEG algorithm can be varied by reducing the number of DCTcoefficients preserved. For greeting card formats of the type involvedwith the invention, it has been concluded that compression ratios up to25 to 1 can be utilized for the screen display data without resulting inunacceptable image losses. Thus, the memory required for an 800×600pixel screen display can be reduced to less than 40 kilobytes and thememory for a 1224×1024 pixed screen display can be reduced to less than120 kilobytes. Thus, high resolution displays can be used with a modestsized computer according to this invention if the image data is storedin a compressed format. Suitable JPEG compression/decompression systemsare available from Optibase Corp., 7800 Deering Ave., Canoga Park,Calif. 91304 or from LEAD Technologies Inc., 8701 Mallard Creek Rd.,Charlotte, N.C. 28262.

The printer 58 is preferably a high quality color printer such as aneight pen ink plotter, laser printer or ink jet printer capable ofgenerating text in a predetermined font and a colorized graphic image.The printer 58 may be controlled by a controller which receivesinstructions and print data from the computer 56. Printer 58 ispreferably located behind a transparent plate in terminal area 50 so asto allow viewing of the card while being printed.

An eight pen ink plotter capable of providing high quality print imageaccording to the invention is available from the Hewlett-Packard Co. Thedata for the print image of the plotter is stored in a compressed vectorformat which give the starting coordinates for a particular color penfollowed by the pen movement instructions. With this data format acomplete card format including text and graphics can be stored in 60kilobytes of memory for a typical greeting card.

High resolution color ink jet printers have been developed byHewlett-Packard at 300 dpi (dots per inch) and from Cannon in Japan at360 dpi. A complete bit map storage for these printers would require asmuch as 1 megabyte of memory storage. The print images are thereforepreferably stored in a lossless compressed format. In the range below10:1 the JPEG algorithm described above is essentially lossless and canbe used. For the print image data, inherently lossless compressiontechniques of the kind developed by PKWARE, Inc. of Glendale, Wis.,under the trademark PKZIP®, Version 2.0 are prefered. With the PKZIP®compression technique data compression ratios of up to 10 to 1 may beachieved without any losses. A greeting card print image can be reducedfrom 1 megabyte of memory to about 100 kilobytes using these compressionalgorithms.

One advantage of using a laser printer or ink jet printer is that it maybe possible to create the screen display and the print image using thesame stored image data, thereby eliminating the need for separate screenimage and print storage in memory. However, even with the use of laseror ink jet printers, it may still be desirable to store the screendisplay and print image as separate image data due to distinctionsbetween screen display and print image such as size and aspect ratios aswell as other characteristics.

The JPEG algorithm is symmetrical meaning that the decompressionoperation is essentially the reverse of the compression operation andboth take the same amount of time if performed on similar equipment. Thealgorithm can be performed in hardware or software; hardwareimplementation usually being faster but more costly. In accordance withthe invention compression is usually done on hardware at the plantwhereas decompression is done using software in the vending machine atthe customer location.

Unlike many printer systems, a plotter does not have fonts developed forits use that can be downloaded to a printer storage. Therefore, all fontdata associated with the text must be stored in the stored cardparameters associated with that card format. The stored data for a cardmay include the particular stored card format as well as certain fontdata, including screen and plotter font size data, and screen andplotter font color data. The stored card parameters may also include afont number, which indicates that an output image is to be inverted ifthe font number is negative. With this stored information, textassociated with a stored card format may be printed by a plotter used asprinter 58.

A different situation is presented for text which is added in thecustomization process. As there are no stored font parameters for thistext, a separate file is provided with character font data, which fontdata is handled by a separate instruction routine. The font data fileincludes data relating to each character that may be printed as well asa predetermined kern value (i.e., the spacing between letters). Afterthe stored card format text has been sent from the hard disk 76 to theprinter 58 and printed on a card stock, the CPU 68 accesses the fontdata file. A character string from the customized message, a specificfont, a font size factor, pen color and a positioning x,y coordinatewhere the customized text is to appear on the card are sent from RAM 66to the printer 58. Then, using this information and the font data fromthe font data file, printer 58 prints the customized text on the cardstock.

More specifically, the first character from the string is moved into astorage array. Its printed height is determined by multiplying theheight data for that character (from the font data file) times the sizefactor (from RAM 66). The size factor ensures that the customized textis the correct size in relation to the printed stored text. The firstcharacter's printed width is determined by multiplying the width datafor that character (from the font data file) times the size factor (fromRAM 6).

Upon obtaining the dimensions of the printed character, its startingprint location on the card stock is next determined. The starting pointis determined by first calculating the length of the entire characterstring. The starting point will then be either 1) the positioning x,ycoordinate (for left side justification); 2) the coordinate obtainedfrom subtracting the length of the entire string from the x coordinateof the positioning x,y coordinate (for right side justification); or 3)the coordinate obtained from subtracting one-half the length of theentire string from the x coordinate of the positioning x,y coordinate(for centering the string about the positioning x,y coordinate). In somesituations, the text is to be inverted on the card stock, e.g., all textappearing in the upper left and right quadrants will be printedup-side-down, so that the appear normally when the card is folded. Inthis situation, the starting point is determined in the opposite mannerthan starting point determination for the non-inverted print.

Once the dimensions and starting point of the first character of astring are determined, the character is printed on the card stock usinga determined pen color (from RAM 66). The starting point of the nextcharacter is determined by adding to the previous starting point, thewidth of the previous character and then a spacing equal to the kernvalue (from the font data file) multiplied by the size factor (from theRAM). After calculating the dimensions of the character, it is thenprinted. This process continues until the entire character string isprinted, at which point, the routine returns control to the main programto either continue or print the next customized string. When thecharacter received in the storage array is an "@", this indicates thatthe final customized character has been printed and that the card iscompleted. A signal is therefore sent to by the printer control 70 toeject the printed card from the printer 58.

Card stock is fed into printer 58 by means of a paper loading device 72,which includes a plunger in positional relation to the paper feedactivation button on the control panel of the printer. Upon start-up ofthe vending machine after power has been shut down, or at some pointafter a printed card has been ejected from the printer, the plunger isbrought into contact with the paper feed activation button to therebycause a new sheet of card stock to be fed onto the printing bed ofprinter 58. Upon initial start-up of the printer there is a shortinterval in which the paper feed activation button is inactive while theprinter is warming up. The plunger is provided so as to delay contactingthe paper feed activation button until after the warm up period. Asimilar time delay could be achieved using a logic circuit used toactivate the control switch for the printer.

The terminal unit 50 may also include at least one audio component 60coupled to an audio controller 74 to control volume level and tone fromthe audio component. Voice recordings are digitized and stored on harddisk 76. At select intervals, a particular voice message is loaded andplayed back over audio component 60 by the CPU 68. The voice messagesmay be for the purpose of marketing and advertising, to provide help toa customer during use of the vending machine, or to inform a customerwhen an error in the input of card characteristics or customizationinformation has occurred. As will be explained hereinafter in greaterdetail, during loading and playback of a voice message, the CPU 68periodically checks for a touch of one of the "buttons" on the touchscreen 54. If a contact is detected, an interrupt signal is generatedand the loading or playback of a voice message is terminated.

A payment receiving device 62 for accepting revenue through a billand/or coin receiving mechanism a credit card reader.

Stored on the hard disk 76 is the data for the graphical representationof the menu or query screens displayed on the monitor, as well asparameters associated with each screen. Such parameters may include thefollowing:

a screen number, which uniquely identifies each screen

a prior screen number, which identifies which screen to backup to whenrequested

a "more screen" number, which identifies the screen number containingadditional responses to the same question posed on the present screen,but which were too numerous to fit on the present screen

button variables, which are properties or characteristics that may beassigned to a particular "button" or location on the screen (there maybe up to 60 on a single screen)

button number, which is the number of each button for touch screenlocation

action code, which defines the next action for a particular button

next screen number, which identifies the next screen number foractivation of a particular button

upper left x,y screen coordinates

lower right x,y screen coordinates.

As will be explained hereinafter in greater detail, the next screenpresentation depends upon a given response; that is, only those nextscreens which are appropriate to a given response will be presented to acustomer, thereby avoiding presentation of unnecessary and irrelevantquestions.

THE SELECTION AND CUSTOMIZATION PROCESS

In the present invention, a customer may use the touch screen 54 toselect criteria for the desired card. The selection criteria may beelicited from the customer's response to a series of questions, whichcan be categorized as first level selections, second level selections,etc. First level selections are used to select a "general application"related to the occasion for which the card is being sent. For example,as seen in FIG. 3, the statement, "The greeting card I want is . . . "may be displayed on the monitor followed by a list of possible choices,such as, birthday, anniversary, etc. The responses are set forth invisible touch zones or "buttons". A response is designated by touchingthe button on the touch screen containing the desired response.

Once the general application has been selected, the next screen maypresent a second level selection, broadly referred to as "specific usecriteria", followed by a list of possible responses. The second levelselections may be particularized to the responses to the first levelselections, thus ensuring that only necessary and appropriate questionsare presented to the customer for response. For example, if a birthdaycard is indicated in the first level selection, the relationship to therecipient is useful for the card selection whereas, if a Mothers's Daycard is indicated in the first level selection, the relationship of therecipient is known and need not be determined on the second level.

Examples of statements eliciting responses to second level selectionsmay include the following:

The person receiving the card is my . . .

The style of card I want is . . .

The card is being sent by a . . .

The card is being sent to a . . .

FIGS. 4-8 illustrate these statements displayed on the monitor, togetherwith a list of possible responses. As with the first level selections, aresponse is designated by touching the "button" on the screen containingthe desired response. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the possible responsesto some questions are too numerous to fit on one screen without makingit unreasonably confusing or difficult to choose a desired response. Forthese questions, a customer is given the option to display additionalscreens containing further possible responses.

A question on a given selection level may lead to a presentation ofadditional screens (not shown) with further sublevel questions. Thesesublevel selections are use to further describe or clarify a response.For example, if, in response to the statement, "The person receivingthis card is my . . . ", as shown in FIG. 5, and the customer chooses"roommate", an appropriate sublevel inquiry may be presented askingwhether the person is male or female.

As seen in FIGS. 3-8, each screen display may also present a "button"allowing a customer to seek help, or return to a previously askedquestion to modify a previous response.

As the card selection criteria are designated, the criteria are storedand used by the computer to select from among the card formats stored inmemory those cards conforming to the set of criteria selected by thecustomer. The card formats are stored on the hard disk together withassociated card criteria, including a general application category codeas well as codes for the specified card criteria. A sort routine isexecuted by the computer to sort through the stored card data bycomparing the stored criteria codes with the code representative of thecustomer-selected card criteria to find all matching card formats. If amatch is found, the card format is selected for display on monitor 52.This group of cards is presented one at a time as can be seen in FIG. 9for selection by the customer using the touch screen.

Upon selection of a specific card format the monitor 52 displaysquestions requesting customization information for the card. Thesequestions may be considered the next level of selection where thecustomer may be asked:

What is the name of the person or persons receiving the card?

What is the name of the person or persons sending the card?

Where is the card being sent to?

Where is the card being sent from?

What is the date?

What is the personalized message you wish to include in the card?

The questions presented may vary depending on the responses to the firstand second level selections (i.e., if a birthday card is selected as afirst level selection, a customer may be asked to provide a recipient'sage when customizing the card). Additionally, as in the first and secondlevel selections, there may be sublevel selections presented for a givenresponse while customizing the card.

Many of the responses to customizing selections require a customer totype in a message. To accomplish this, monitor 52 may display letters asthey appear on a typical typewriter key board, as seen in FIG. 10. Forexample, in entering the name of a person to receive the card, acustomer touches the letters on touch screen 54 that spell out therecipients name. As physical space for messages being inserted in thecard is limited, the display may indicate a limitation on the number ofletters as shown in FIG. 10. For example, a recipient's name may be nomore than 25 characters, a sender's name may be no more than 15characters and the message on the card may be no more than 80characters. As with the previous selection levels, help screens may beavailable, as well as an option to change a response to the present orprevious questions.

Once the customization information has been entered, the final versionof the card is displayed on the monitor as shown in FIG. 11. At thispoint, the customer is given the option to print the card (and pay forthe card), to change an entry or to start from the beginning. Up untilthis point, the customer has not been required to tender any fee for thepreparation of the card. Only if the customer is satisfied with theselected customized card composed on the screen and wishes the cardprinted by the printer will a fee be required. Thus, a customer mayrepeat the process of creating cards on the monitor as often as desiredand no payment is required. Payment is required only upon printing ofthe card onto the card stock.

The same stored display card format is used for the FIG. 9 display(before customizing) and the FIG. 11 display (after customizing). Thestored card formats include the graphics and the fixed text. The insertlegends "age", "receivers name", "Birth Date", "Your Message Here","Closing" and "Sender's Name" appearing in FIG. 9 are added to the basiccard format as overlays, preferably in a distinctive color. FIG. 11 isformed using the same card format from memory with the customized insertcreated as an overlay. The same process is used in printing the cardwhere the card format is first created from memory and the customizedinserts are then added as an overlay.

System Operation

As shown by FIGS. 12-23, system operation may begin by presenting arecurring display of graphic images for the purpose of advertising(steps 101 through 106, to attract the attention of customers passing bythe unit. After each marketing graphic file is loaded from the hard disk76 into RAM 66 and displayed on monitor 52 (step 255), the program, atstep 103, checks for the existence of a sound file that may correspondto the current graphic image. This process of matching graphic displayswith associated sound file may occur every time that an image isdisplayed. If an appropriate sound file exists, it is then read from thehard disk into memory and "played" through the audio component 60,attached with a special adapter to a parallel port of computer 56 (step112). As explained hereinafter in great detail, during the process ofloading and playing the sound file, a touch on the monitor screen caninterrupt the process at any point.

The characteristic selection process begins at step 115 (FIG. 13). Thefirst level selection may present as a display on monitor 52 one or moregraphic images that offer a choice of defined applications or occasions(see FIG. 3). With the exception of the recurring marketing display,there is a timeout built into the touch routine. That is, if there is notouch detected within a preset interval, the program automaticallyreturns to the cycling marketing screens (steps 101 to 106). From theoccasion selection screen, as well as all other selection screens,several actions are possible.

Program step 119 defines processing of a help display in response tocontacting the help "button" as seen on FIGS. 3-8. A particular helpgraphic display is defined in the screen number element of the helpbutton definition. When a return button on a help screen is touched, theprogram redisplays the screen that was on the monitor 52 just prior torequesting the help screen. As shown in step 120 (FIG. 13), a customercan restart the process from any screen. This action will return tore-entry point 113 in FIG. 12.

If the screen presents a choice of applications or categories, as shownstarting in step 121 of FIG. 13, a category choice selected by thecustomer is saved in memory and a category counter is incremented. Thespecific category choice is contained in the action code element of thebutton definition and the next screen for display is identified from thenext screen number. A screen may present the option to see additionalresponses to a given question which are not displayed on the presentscreen (e.g., the "See More Relationships" button on FIG. 4). Programstep 122 defines a new selection screen at the same level, for example,FIG. 5 presenting additional responses. That is, the screens of FIGS. 4and 5 each relate to selection of the relationship of the recipient of agreeting card to the sender.

To reverse the menu flow, as traversed up to this point, the prioraction may be taken from step 136 in FIG. 14. The screen defined in theprior screen number element of the current menu definition is thendisplayed. Any selections made on screen appearing after the presentlydisplayed screen are blanked and the counter decremented.

Once all relevant selections at a given level have been made, the nextlevel is presented at program step 137 (FIG. 14). FIGS. 6-8 illustratequestions which may be asked in response to questions on the previouslevel (FIGS. 4-5). The process of making selections at specific levelsmay be repeated until all level screens defined for the selected cardapplication have been exhausted.

Once all selections for a desired card have been entered, only thosecards from the stored card formats that conform to the selections madeat each level will be chosen for display in the next level. The firstviewable card is then displayed on the monitor 52 as, for example, inFIG. 9. The help option is also available at this point, in step 142.The customer may request the next card to be displayed, or select thecard that is being viewed for customization. As shown in FIG. 9, certaincustomization information may be entered at this point in the carddesign format, such as the receiver's name, birth date, a short message,a closing, and the sender's name.

At step 151 in FIG. 15, the system elicits and stores the chosen card'sdefined customization options. Depending on the presented screendisplay, the customer may enter a string of test of maximum 10 to 80characters in length. Expansion beyond 80 characters may be provided asan option based on fonts and space allocation on the card product to beprinted.

Additionally, numbers may be entered at this level for dates, age, yearsmarried, etc., depending on the application chosen. These entries may beprocessed in a manner similar to the above screen level selections. Thebutton touched defines an action code that is cross-referenced to adescription in a database file. When the button is selected, the programaccesses the file, retrieves the description associated with the actioncode and holds it in memory along with the text that has been entered.

The text/number entry screens have a button defined for informing thesystem that the customer has completed the specific entry and to go onto the next option ("OK to Proceed" button on FIG. 10). At any pointduring the entry/selection of options, the customer may back up to anyprior option to change or modify any entry made at that point.

After all the customization information has been entered at this level,the card is then re-displayed on the monitor with all the customerentries and selections overlayed onto the card in the proper locationsfor final customer approval as shown in FIG. 11. A customer may chooseto print the selected card. As the system may be operated for any lengthof time up to this point without incurring a charge, a confirmation ofprinting is asked for in step 174.

To plot the selected card, the system, in step 182, loads from the harddisk 76 the plotter instructions for the card. These instructions arethen output to the plotter 24 from a serial or parallel port installedin the computer 56. After the stored card data has been plotted on thecard, the customization steps optionally may be overlayed. For eachcustomer text or number entry, an appropriate plotter font file isopened and a character string is output to the plotter. When all thecard customizing entries and selections have been reproduced, the cardsheet is then ejected from the printer 58. If desired, the program forplotting the selected card can require receipt of the proper payment viapayment receiving device 62 (FIG. 1) prior to activation.

The customer is then given the option to print another card. If theywish to, the system then returns to the occasion selection screen atentry point 113 in FIG. 12, and if not, it returns to the marketingcycle display at entry point 114.

FIGS. 18-20 show a detail flow of the sound processing routine depictedby blocks 109-112 in FIG. 12. The routine begins at step 200 by openingthe sound file and reading in the first 128 positions to retrieve therecord length of the digital sound data, the recording sample rate, andchannel to play it through. The sample rate is then set in step 202.Program memory is allocated to use a buffer as each sound file block isread from the file. By using the record length, a number of 4K blocksmay be calculated for use during the sound file playback. To accommodatea sound file of any size, the present system stores the file in ExpandedMemory (EMS). This is additional memory that is outside the system'snormally accessible memory area. It is accessed by mapping 64K segmentsof the stored data into RAM 66 (step 206). Each of these 64K segments ofdata are further subdivided into sixteen 4K blocks. The computer 56downloads the data one block at a time into RAM 66. To provide touchinterrupt capability, the program checks for a valid touch after each 4Kblock of sound data is read (steps 211, 215, 219 and 224). When allsixteen blocks of a segment have been downloaded that segment is movedinto EMS and another 64K segment is mapped into program useable memory.This process is continued until the entire file is read or a touch isdetected. If a touch is detected, the routine closes the file andreleases the EMS memory before returning to the routine's origin (FIG.19).

If no touch on the monitor screen is detected during the file loadingprocess, the file is then closed and the system prepares to playback thestored speech data. The system, starting at the beginning of the soundfile stored in EMS, begins mapping the data into the RAM 66. Each 4Kblock is moved into the data buffer and played back through audiocomponent 60 attached to the parallel port of the computer 56. As in thereading of the file, after each 4K block is played back, a valid touchis checked for. If at any point a touch is detected or the number ofblocks played is equal to the calculated block count, the routine endsby releasing the EMS memory and returning to its starting point.

Upon completion of the printing process and when the printed card isejected from terminal 50, it may be a flat sheet of card stock havingquadrants 78, 80, 82 and 84 clockwise from the upper left quadrant asshown in FIG. 24a. All the printing is done on one side of the flat cardstock. Therefore, the card is folded twice in a predetermined manner soas to produce a card having print on both the inside and outside of thecard. The card is intended to be folded such that quadrants 82, 80, 78and 84 form the front, first page, second page and back, respectively.This may be accomplished by first folding the top half (i.e., quadrants78 and 80) about a horizontal axis down behind the bottom half (i.e.,quadrants 84 and 82) as shown in FIG. 24b. Next, the left half (i.e.,with quadrant 84) is folded about a vertical axis to be behind the rightside, as shown in FIG. 24c. Once the card has been folded as such, itmay be placed in an envelope available from a compartment on or adjacentto terminal 50. The printer 58 prints the cards such that printappearing on quadrant 78 and 80 is inverse, or up-side-down from theprint appearing on quadrant 82 and 84. Thus, when the card is folded asdescribed above, all the print appears uniformly oriented to beright-side-up.

As it is desirable to have the edges of the card aligned when folded,the card may have prescored lines along the vertical and horizontal axesto indicate and facilitate folding along these lines. However, if theprescored lines were located along the central horizontal and verticalaxes, the edges of interior pages, quadrants 78 and 80, would protrudeslightly due to the thickness of the paper. Therefore, to compensate forthe thickness of the paper, the prescored lines may be located slightlyoff from and parallel to the exact central vertical and horizontal axes.Additionally, the right vertical edge of quadrant 80 may be slightlytapered as seen on FIG. 24a. The amount of the taper depends on thethickness and size of the paper and the amount of offset of theprescored lines from the center axes. For example, it may be seen that acard of sheet stock 80 # text, having a vertical length of 17 inches anda horizontal width of 11 inches (as in conventional greeting cards),when folded according to the method described above, has edges whichalign with each other when the card contains a prescored vertical line1/16th inch to the left of the central vertical axis, a prescoredhorizontal line 1/16th inch above the central horizontal axis, and theright vertical edge of quadrant 80 tapered 1/16th of an inch.

Although the invention has been described in detail herein, it should beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments hereindisclosed. Various changes, substitutions and modifications may be madethereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A vending machine method for dispensing printed cardproducts at a terminal area, including the steps of:creating cardproduct designs in a digital format; compressing said card productdesigns to provide designs in compressed format; storing said designs incompressed format in memory at said terminal area; selecting a desiredone of said card product designs at said terminal area; decompressingthe design in compressed format to print the selected card productdesign at said terminal area.
 2. A vending machine method for dispensingprinted card products according to claim 1 wherein:compressing of saidcard product designs is achieved by conversion into a vector format, anddecompression is achieved by using a plotter to print the selected cardproduct design using card product design in vendor format.
 3. A vendingmachine method for dispensing printed card products according to claim 1wherein said compression and decompression is achieved using a digitalcosign transform (DCT).
 4. A vending machine method for dispensingprinted card products according to claim 1 wherein selection of adesired one of said product designs is achieved by selecting criteriafor the desired product design and displaying a selected group of cardproduct designs for final selection for printing.
 5. A vending machinemethod for dispensing printed card products according to claim 4 whereinsaid display of a selected group of card product designs is achieved bydecompressing card product designs and displaying the decompressed cardproduct design on a video screen at the terminal area.
 6. A vendingmachine method for dispensing printed card products according to claim 4wherein, after final selection of a card product design, customizedmessages may be added to the selected design, said customized messagesbeing displayed as an overlay to the selected card product design andbeing printed as an overlay on the printed card product.
 7. A vendingmachine method for dispensing printed card products at a terminal area,including the steps of:creating card product designs including graphics,text, and blank spaces for insertion of customized messages; storingsaid card product designs in memory at said terminal area together withselection criteria for each card product design; selecting a desired oneof said card product designs for display on a screen at said terminalarea; providing a screen overlay for the displayed card productindicating the types of customized messages that can be inserted in theblank spaces; inserting customized messages at said terminal area anddisplaying said customized messages as an overlay on said card productdesign displayed on said screen; and printing the selected card productdesign with said customized messages if satisfied with the card designdisplayed on said screen.
 8. A vending machine method according to claim7 wherein said printing is achieved by printing said card product designincluding graphics, text and blank spaces and printing of saidcustomized messages in said blank spaces as an overlay.
 9. A vendingmachine method according to claim 8 wherein said selection of a desiredone of said product designs is achieved by first selecting a desiredgeneral application, then selecting specific uses appropriate for theselected general application, then displaying product designscorresponding to the selected general application and selected specificuses, and then selecting a specific product design from among thedisplayed product designs.
 10. A vending machine method according toclaim 7 wherein said card product designs are stored in memory in acompressed format for decompression when used to provide card productdesign displays or printed images.
 11. A vending machine method fordispensing printed card products at a terminal area including the stepsof:providing a plurality of stored card product designs together with atleast one general application and specific uses for each card productdesign; selecting a group of card product designs at said terminal areacorresponding to a desired general application; displaying specific useoptions corresponding to the selected general application; selectingspecific uses from the displayed specific use options; displaying thecard designs corresponding to the selected general application and theselected specific uses; selecting a specific one of said displayed cardformats; adding custom messages to the selected card format to customizethe card as desired; and printing said selected card format with saidcustom messages when satisfied with the customized card selection.
 12. Avending machine method according to claim 11, wherein said storedproduct designs are stored as compressed data.
 13. A vending machinemethod according to claim 11, including providing a video monitor atsaid terminal area for presenting textual and graphic design screensrelating to the creation and production of said selected card formatwith said custom messages, and allowing the customer to make desiredresponses and selections via a touch sensitive screen on the monitor.14. A vending machine method according to claim 13, includingreproducing voice text data associated with said textual and graphicdesign screens.
 15. A vending machine method according to claim 13,including enabling the customer to customize said selected card formatby displaying text characters on the touch sensitive screen of themonitor, and allowing a customer to enter a desired character string bytouching selected ones of the text characters as displayed on the touchsensitive screen.
 16. A vending machine method according to claim 13,including enabling the customer to customize said selected card formatby displaying text characters on the touch sensitive screen of themonitor, and allowing a customer to enter a desired character string bytouching selected ones of the text characters as displayed on the touchsensitive screen.
 17. A vending machine method according to claim 11,including revising and updating said stored card product designs from aremote location via a communications link.
 18. A vending machine methodaccording to claim 11, including printing said selected card format withsaid custom messages on a recording medium with a multi-color inkplotter at the terminal.
 19. A vending machine method according to claim11, including printing said selected card format with said custommessages on one side of a flat sheet of card stock material, and foldingthe card stock material along pre-scored fold lines to produce afinished card product.
 20. A vending machine method for dispensingprinted card products at a terminal area including the stepsof:providing a plurality of different card formats in a memory togetherwith selection criteria; providing multi level menu displays of saidselection criteria so that the customer can select a group of said cardformats; successively displaying the card formats corresponding to saidselected criteria for final selection of a card format; elicitingfurther information from said customer for customizing said selectedcard format; printing said customized card format on a plain paper cardstock if desired by the customer; and paying for said customized cardonly if printed.
 21. Vending machine apparatus for dispensing printedcards at a terminal area comprisinga memory for storing a plurality ofdifferent card formats together with selection criteria for each of saidcard formats; a video screen at the terminal area visible by customersfor displaying multi-level selection criteria menu displays and selectedcard formats; a touch screen associated with said video screen to permitcustomer selection of criteria displayed on said video screen; means forsorting said card formats stored in said memory and displaying on saidvideo screen those card formats corresponding to selected criteria;means coupled to said touch screen for selecting one of said displayedcard formats; means coupled to said touch screen for supplyingcustomized messages appropriate for the selected card format; and aprinter for printing the selected card format with said customizedmessages.
 22. A vending machine method according to claim 21, whereinsaid stored card formats are stored as compressed data.
 23. A vendingmachine method according to claim 21, including revising and updatingsaid stored card formats from a remote location via a communicationslink.
 24. A vending machine method according to claim 21, includingprinting said selected card format with said customized messages on arecording medium with a multi-color ink plotter at the terminal.
 25. Avending machine method according to claim 21, including printing saidselected card format with said customized messages on one side of a flatsheet of card stock material, and folding the card stock material alongpre-scored fold lines to produce a finished card product.
 26. A vendingmachine method according to claim 21, including reproducing voice textdata associated with a display on said video screen.
 27. Vending machineapparatus for dispensing printed cards at a terminal area comprising;amemory for storing a plurality of different card formats together withselection criteria for each of said card formats; a video screen at theterminal area visible by customers; means for displaying a multi-levelselection menu of said selection criteria on said video screen; meansavailable to the customer for making selections from said multi-levelselection menu; means for sorting said card formats in said memoryaccording to selected criteria and for displaying those of said cardformats corresponding to selected criteria on said video screen; meansfor making a final card format selection from among those displayed onsaid video screen; means for supplying customized messages to be addedto the final card format selections; means supplying plain paper stockprescored to provide a quadrant fold; means for printing said customizedcard format on a single side of said plain paper stock so that, whenfolded, print appears both on an outside cover and on at least oneinside page.
 28. A vending machine for dispensing printed, customizedcard products, comprising:(a) a housing, (b) a card delivery device atleast partially disposed in the housing; (c) a computer disposed in thehousing, said computer having a card design file with a plurality ofcard designs stored therein, each card design having a plurality ofsocial expression design parameters associated therewith; (d) an inputdevice and a display terminal, each coupled with said computer and eachsupported at least partially on said housing, said input device beingaccessible to a customer on the outside of said housing, and saiddisplay terminal being viewable by a customer on the outside of saidhousing; (e) said input device being designed to enable a consumer torespond to a plurality of queries presented at the display terminal toinput to the computer a plurality of input signals, each of which isassociated with a social expression design parameter, for use insearching the card design file; (f) said computer being adapted to (i)search the card design file in accordance with said plurality of inputsignals and retrieve a group of the card designs, each of whoseplurality of social express design parameters is associated with saidplurality of input signals, and (ii) sequentially display each of thegroup of card designs at said display terminal for final selection by acustomer on the outside of said housing, (g) said input device beingfurther designed to input additional signals for defining customizedmaterial for addition to a selected card design; and (h) a printingmachine disposed in the housing, said printing machine having a paperstorage device for storing a stack of paper products, a printing deviceresponsive to a signal from said computer for printing on one of thestack of paper products a selected card design and the customizedmaterial defined for the card design and for directing the one of thestack of paper products from said printing device to said card deliverydevice.
 29. A vending machine as defined in claim 28, wherein one of thestack of paper products is located at said printing device while aplurality of the input signals is being input to said computer, andwherein said printing machine includes a feed device for automaticallyfeeding another one of the stack of paper products to said printingdevice after said one of said stack of paper products has been directedfrom said printing device to said card delivery device.
 30. A machinefor delivering a personalized product to a customer, said machinecomprising:(a) storage means for storing base products; (b) a deliverydevice; (c) product handling means for effecting a series of operationsand including:(i) transfer means for effecting transfer of a baseproduct from said storage means; (ii) electrically controllablemodification means for effecting modification of said base products toproduce modified base products; and (iii) delivery means for effectingdelivery of said modified base products to said delivery device; (d) anenclosure containing said storage means, said delivery device, and saidproduct handling means therewithin; (e) selection means operable by acustomer on the outside of said enclosure to effect entry of controldata which defines the desired final form of the personalized product;and (f) computer means within said enclosure and coupled to saidselection means and to said transfer means, said electricallycontrollable modification means, and said delivery means of said producthandling means, said computer means controlling said transfer means,said modification means, and said delivery means of said producthandling means to perform a series of operations in accordance with saidcontrol data, said series of operations being performed within saidenclosure without operator intervention and including modification of abase product transferred from said storage means to produce the desiredfinal form of the personalized product, and delivery of the desiredfinal form of the personalized product from said modification means tosaid delivery device, (g) wherein said selection means includes displaymeans arranged for display of the product formats available forselection and personalization by a customer.
 31. A machine as defined inclaim 30, wherein said selection means comprises electronicallygenerated presentation means for presentation of the product formatsavailable for selection and personalization by a customer.
 32. A machineas defined in claim 30, wherein said base products include base productsin the form of sheets of sheet material and wherein said modificationmeans of said product handling means include printing means for printingpersonalized data on said base products.
 33. A machine as defined inclaim 32, wherein said printing means includes an automatic plotter. 34.A machine as defined in claim 30, wherein said storage means includemeans for storing a stack of base products in the form of sheets ofsheet material and wherein said product handling means comprises meansfor engagement with a leading sheet of said stack to effect separationof the leading sheet from remaining sheets of said stack.
 35. A machineas defined in claim 30, further including start means coupled to saidcomputer means for initiating performance of said series of operationsin accordance with said control data.
 36. A machine as defined in claim35, including payment means to effect payment for a product.
 37. Amachine as defined in claim 30, wherein said base products includesheets of greeting card stock, and wherein said modification meansinclude means for applying indicia to a transferred sheet of greetingcard stock to form a personalized greeting card.
 38. A machine asdefined in claim 37, wherein said modification means include means forapplying message indicia of a selectable form to a transferred sheet ofgreeting card stock, and wherein said selection means include means forselecting the form of message indicia to be applied to a transferredsheet of greeting card stock.
 39. A machine as defined in claim 38,wherein said selection means includes means for selecting charactersfrom a complete alphabet for composition of the form of message indiciato be applied to a transferred sheet of greeting card stock.
 40. Amachine as defined in claim 39, wherein said display means include atouch screen and a complete alphabet display associated therewith forselection of the form of message indicia to be applied to a transferredsheet of greeting card stock.
 41. A machine as defined in claim 37,wherein said base products include blank sheets of greeting card stock,and wherein said modification means include means for applying graphicindicia to a transferred sheet of greeting card stock in forming apersonalized greeting card.
 42. A machine as defined in claim 30,wherein said display means include a touch screen and an associatedmonitor for display and selection of said product formats available forselection and personalization by a customer and for display of operatinginstructions.
 43. A machine as defined in claim 42, further includingaudio means for providing operating instructions and indications to acustomer.
 44. Apparatus for the on-site reproduction and vending ofsocial expression cards in response to a plurality of input data setitems provided by a customer, comprising:information storage andretrieval means for storing, referencing, and retrieving a plurality ofsocial expression card designs, each of said social expression carddesigns being identified by a plurality of special occasion parameters;querying means for querying the customer to select from among theplurality of input data set items, where all of said plurality of inputdata set items are special occasion parameters that identify types ofsocial expression card designs; display means for displaying thosesocial expression card designs that have special occasion parametersthat match those special occasion parameters selected by the customer;reproducing means for reproducing social expression card designs intangible form; and control means connected to said information storageand retrieval means, querying means, display means, and reproducingmeans for controlling and coordinating the operation thereof. 45.Apparatus for the on-site reproduction and vending of social expressioncards in response to a plurality of input data set items provided by acustomer, comprising:information storage and retrieval means forstoring, referencing, and retrieving a plurality of social expressioncard designs, each of said social expression card designs being uniquelyidentified by a plurality of special occasion parameters; querying meansfor querying the customer to select from among the plurality of inputdata set items, where all of said plurality of input data set items arespecial occasion parameters that identify types of social expressioncard designs; display means for displaying those social expression carddesigns that have special occasion parameters that match those specialoccasion parameters selected by the customer; reproducing means forreproducing social expression card designs in tangible form; and controlmeans connected to said information storage and retrieval means,querying means, display means, and reproducing means for controlling andcoordinating the operation thereof.
 46. An apparatus as set forth ineither of claims 44 or 45, wherein said control means is adapted togather statistical and accounting data with respect to the operation ofthe apparatus.
 47. The apparatus of either of claims 44 or 45, furthercomprising valuable media accepting means connected to said controlmeans for accepting payment from the customer for reproduced socialexpression cards.
 48. The apparatus of either of claims 44 or 45,wherein the querying means comprises input means connected to saidcontrol means for accepting input of the plurality of input data setitems, and query display means for displaying queries for the pluralityof input data set items.
 49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein thequery display means and input means comprises respectively a videodisplay and a touchscreen.
 50. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein thequery display means and the display means are combined.
 51. Theapparatus of either of claims 44 or 45, wherein the display meanscomprises video display for electronically displaying greeting carddesigns.
 52. The apparatus of either of claims 44 or 45, wherein thereproducing means comprises a printer.
 53. Apparatus for the on-sitereproduction of social expression cards, said apparatus comprising:(a)information storage and retrieval means for storing, referencing, andretrieving a plurality of social expression card designs, each of saidsocial expression card designs being retrievable by a customer'sselection of a plurality of special occasion parameters that identifytypes of social expression card designs; (b) query means for queryingthe customer to select from among the plurality of special occasionparameters; (c) display means for displaying a subset of the pluralityof social expression card designs in response to the customer'sselection from among the plurality of special occasion parameters; and(d) control means for controlling said information storage and retrievalmeans, said querying means, and said display means.
 54. Apparatus forthe on-site reproduction of social expression cards, said apparatuscomprising:(a) information storage and retrieval means for storing,referencing, and retrieving a plurality of social expression carddesigns, each of said social expression card designs being retrievableby a customer's selection of a plurality of special occasion parametersthat identify types of social expression card designs; (b) query meansfor querying the customer to select from among the plurality of specialoccasion parameters; (c) display means for displaying a subset of theplurality of social expression card designs in response to thecustomer's selection from among the plurality of special occasionparameters; and (d) reproducing means for reproducing social expressioncard designs in tangible form; and (e) control means for controllingsaid information storage and retrieval means, said querying means, saiddisplay means, and said reproducing means.
 55. Apparatus for the on-sitereproduction of social expression cards in response to a plurality ofinput data set items provided by a customer, comprising:(a) informationstorage and retrieval means for storing, referencing, and retrieving aplurality of social expression card designs, each of said socialexpression card designs being identified by a plurality of specialoccasion parameters; (b) querying means for querying the customer toselect from among the plurality of input data set items, where all ofsaid plurality of input data set items are special occasion parametersthat identify types of social expression card designs; (c) display meansfor displaying those social expression card designs that have specialoccasion parameters that match those special occasion parametersselected by the customer; and (d) control means connected to saidinformation storage and retrieval means, querying means, and displaymeans for controlling and coordinating the operation thereof. 56.Apparatus for the on-site reproduction of social expression cards inresponse to a plurality of input data set items provided by a customer,comprising:(a) information storage and retrieval means for storing,referencing, and retrieving a plurality of social expression carddesigns, each of said social expression card designs being identified bya plurality of special occasion parameters; (b) querying means forquerying the customer to select from among the plurality of input dataset items, where all of said plurality of input data set items arespecial occasion parameters that identify types of social expressioncard designs; (c) display means for displaying those social expressioncard designs that have special occasion parameters that match thosespecial occasion parameters selected by the customer; (d) reproducingmeans for reproducing social expression card designs in tangible form;and (e) control means connected to said information storage andretrieval means, querying means, display means, and reproducing meansfor controlling and coordinating the operation thereof.
 57. Apparatusfor the on-site reproduction of social expression cards, said apparatuscomprising:(a) querying means for querying a customer to select fromamong a first plurality of special occasion parameters that identifytypes of social expression card designs; (b) information storage andretrieval means for storing, referencing, and retrieving a firstplurality of social expression card designs, each of said socialexpression card designs being retrievable by the customer's selection ofa second plurality of special occasion parameters that is a subset ofsaid first plurality of special occasion parameters; (c) display meansfor displaying a second plurality of social expression card designs thatis a subset of a said first plurality of social expression card designsin response to the customer's selection from among said first pluralityof special occasion parameters; and (d) control means for controllingsaid information storage and retrieval means, said querying means, andsaid display means.
 58. Apparatus for the on-site reproduction of socialexpression cards, said apparatus comprising:(a) querying means forquerying a customer to select from among a first plurality of specialoccasion parameters that identify types of social expression carddesigns; (b) information storage and retrieval means for storing,referencing, and retrieving a first plurality of social expression carddesigns, each of said social expression card designs being retrievableby the customer's selection of a second plurality of special occasionparameters that is a subset of said first plurality of special occasionparameters; (c) display means for displaying a second plurality ofsocial expression card designs that is a subset of the plurality ofsocial expression card designs in response to the customer's selectionfrom among said first plurality of special occasion parameters; and (d)reproducing means for reproducing social expression card designs intangible form; and (e) control means for controlling said informationstorage and retrieval means, said querying means, said display means,and said reproducing means.
 59. A method of the on-site manufacture andvending of social expression cards, comprising the steps of:inputting aplurality of social expression card designs into an information storageand retrieval system for storing, referencing, and retrieving the socialexpression card designs, where each of the social expression carddesigns comprises a front page and an inside page and each socialexpression card design is uniquely identified by a plurality of specialoccasion parameters, and where the special occasion parameters are usedto group social expression card designs with like special occasionparameters into fields; querying the customer for a plurality of inputdata set items, all of the plurality of input data set items beingspecial occasion parameters to identify a field of social expressioncard designs; searching the information storage and retrieval system forsocial expression card designs having special occasion parameters thatmatch those input by the customer; displaying those social expressioncard designs haviang special occasion parameters that match those inputby the customer; selecting a social expression card design to bereproduced; and reproducing said selected social expression card designin tangible form.
 60. A method of the on-site manufacture and vending ofsocial expression cards, comprising the steps of:inputting a pluralityof social expression card designs into an information storage andretrieval system for storing, referencing, and retrieving the socialexpression card designs, where each of the social expression carddesigns comprises a front page and an inside page and each socialexpression card design is identified by a plurality of special occasionparameters, and where the special occasion parameters are used to groupsocial expression card designs with like special occasion parametersinto fields; querying the customer for a plurality of input data setitems, all of the plurality of input data set items being specialoccasion parameters to identify a field of social expression carddesigns; searching the information storage and retrieval system forsocial expression card designs having special occasion parameters thatmatch those input by the customer; displaying those social expressioncard designs having special occasion parameters that match those inputby the customer; selecting a social expression card design to bereproduced; and reproducing said selected social expression card designin tangible form.
 61. The method of either of claims 59 or 60, furtherincluding the step of gathering statistical and accounting data withrespect to the manufacture and vending of social expression cards.